Tuesday, Feb 26, 2002

Friends,

      On Wed Feb 20 a good friend received in his P.O. box an envelope from
Kenya with receipts for bills, on poor quality paper, as would be common
quality in a third-world country. Unsuspicious at first, he then became
worried. He does not believe it was a prank. There was no message, no return
address, no white powder, no noticeable odor or obvious foreign matter. His
fear is that maybe the papers were contaminated with a deadly virus or other
biological agent. His concern is not immediately for his own life but for
those of a young niece and nephew with whom he has since had contact. He
would like to have the material, now sealed in triple plastic bags, tested
for possible deadly agents, but is reluctant to simply go to a public health
office because it would inevitably lead to a police investigation of him and
his house, which is full of his books and his writings. As a radical, he
could (and probably would) be targeted and harrassed in the neo-fascist
police state environment of today's U.S.A. He has no idea who sent the
envelope or how they got his P.O. Box number. The name was incorrect, i.e.
not his name, but possibly a distortion. If anyone knows whether there exist
possible agents that could be used to contaminate papers without being
evident, that information would be helpful. If there are not, he can rest
easy. If there are ways to have such material analyzed in a secure
laboratory anonymously, that too would be helpful. I know with certainty
that my friend is not in any way involved in any illegitimate or illegal
activities, to say nothing of terrorism, of course. Thanks for whatever
information you might be able to provide.

Sincerely,
George